This book was written from the heart. It is a tear bringer. The characters are very well developed. And the story is great and always evolving. Very well written Contemporary Romance. Having lost a few family members to Alzheimer disease. This story touched the heart.

As a Social Educator, when I read about this book I was immediately touched by the theme of this novel. And given the opportunity I jumped in and had to read this story and find out how it went, as well as what were the characters background and future in this plot and storyline.

I won’t tell about the specifics of this novel because I want you to fully experience the story and all the emotions without my thoughts and opinion about it on your mind, but I enjoyed every page of it. Although it felt like a rollercoaster for me, I was so focus that I didn’t even realize I was “devouring” each page and going through this journey with my emotions on my eyes and my heart beating fast.

Following Simon, Emma and Michael, it’s difficult not to get emotional by all the issues that are written in this story. And unexpectedly it has romance too, nevertheless, for me the Alzheimer’s topic was what really grabbed me, and the fact that everything that happened was on the POV, the realism of the characters and the scenery around them was also perfect.

So, grab a tissue and enter this story. Overall, it was an amazing book. From my social education eyes, it was different to read the book than just as a reader enjoying a novel. It was an intriguing story that talks about Alzheimer’s and the people around patients with Alzheimer’s (family, friends and medical staff). And I loved the dynamic of the relationships as well as the fact that it was eye opening kind of novel.

This book! Tear jerker, gut wrenching, heartbreaking, contemporary romance, friendship and so much more in this story about a 40yr old man with early onset Alzheimer’s.. Who, while he was still able and aware checked himself into a care home and instantly clicks with the manager of the home, Emma. A great read that I highly recommend along with a box of tissues..

Simon, a successful accountant, has a big problem. The biggest of them all. He checks himself into Orchard Care Home whilst still relatively healthy, the youngest resident by decades. He’s confident he cut all ties with the outside world and is untraceable.

Emma, married with no kids, lives, breathes and manages Orchard Care Home; a position her husband, Michael, used to hold in the good old days. But now he’s soared up the company hierarchy she sees so much less of him.

The attraction between carer and resident is instant, but ultimately destined for catastrophe. Alzheimer’s takes no prisoners and Early Onset, it’s most tragic form, is the cruellest of all.

How can Michael feel threatened by Simon? And what future could Emma have with him?

Simon understands less and less, but knows he has to try and run away from time - to somehow beat the ceaseless clock.

Just from reading the blurb about this book I knew it would be a real tear-jerker. This is a very well written, loving book that I really didn’t want to end. So many people are affected by Alzheimer’s Disease, and will relate to this book to some degree. 5*

This is a bittersweet, sad, happy, celebration of life story. One minute you’re happy, the next you’re sad. One minute a character really ticks you off and the next minute you find yourself rooting for that character. The author does a nice job of character development. My only complaint is the ending seems quite rushed.

No blurb can really do this book justice!

A Long Goodbye is a deeply emotional exploration of love, loss and caring that left me completely drained, but in a good way.

Le Moignan avoids the trap of introducing too many characters and keeps the focus tightly on a core few (Emma, Simon, Michael), with a handful of peripheral side characters (most notably Julie and Maddie). The reader gets to know these few characters intimately and they feel utterly real: not ‘baddies’ or ‘goodies’ but authentic complex people with their own motivations and justifications.

Perhaps excepting Simon, who is an angel through and through!

It was obvious from the overall theme of the book that this was going to be a tragic love story. Le Moignan’s portrayal of Early Onset Alzheimers is heartbreakingly honest; raw but sensitive. Simon’s decline is almost unbearable to watch, but it is his approach to his illness, and life in general, that won my heart and had me sticking by him to the last page.

Not to say that the whole story was doom and gloom! This is a romance, after all, so we see a fair helping of coincidental meetings, communication mix-ups and comical misunderstandings. Plus the upbeat attitudes of the main characters really help to keep the pace lively and leaven the greyer moments.

Whilst Simon’s story arc was somewhat predictable given his circumstances, those of Emma and Michael took some totally unexpected turns, and I really enjoyed how the characters had the capacity to surprise me right to the finish. Especially at the finish!

A Long Goodbye is a deeply moving story of love, not just between a man and a woman, but between friends, lovers, parent and child. Love that transcends illness, memory and painful experiences. I highly recommend this book, but please make sure you stock up on tissues and have some hugs on standby (pet, partner or just a favourite teddy).


The consensus was that his illness would grant him between three and twenty years from the first symptoms. He’d already had a good five of those since first noticing people staring in an unfamiliar way, wondering why he’d repeated himself or didn’t know their names. His last relationship had ended after forgotten dates and ‘being weird‘.
He’d assume there were five years left, the latter half veering towards an unacceptable standard of life. For the moment, he was still healthy in his body, if not in his mind. He intended to keep that level of fitness up for as long as possible.

– Anthony Le Moignan, A Long Goodbye

Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

What a beautiful, sad and utterly absorbing story! I found myself engrossed from the first sentence and when I finished the book I felt bereft; as if I'd lost someone I'd felt very close to. I am not surprised this story is based on the author's experiences with his father, another Alzheimer's patient. Simon is a wealthy young man who learns he has early onset Alzheimer's and when he reaches the point where he feels he needs to cut off all ties to the outside world and reside in a safe, caring place where he can let nature take it inexorable course. Upon moving into Orchard Care Home Simon meets Emma, the manager. Their connection is instant and deep. Emma and Simon both know their time together is limited, particularly by the fact that Emma is married, but their love is a driving force which ultimately changes several lives. A stunning, well written story which will affect anyone lucky enough to find themselves with a copy of it. Very strongly recommend.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a review copy. This is my honest opinion.

Not your typical love story but one that you will certainly need the tissues for. Simon has early on set dementia and after putting his affairs in order he checks himself into a care home where he is very much the youngest resident. He falls head over heels in love with Emma who is the care home manager. The story progressed through the illness and how they deal with the dreadful life shortening illness and their love for each other.

Picked this up completely by accident. Loved every moment of it. Poignant and beautifully written insight into one of the worst conditions that can befall someone these days, especially when they are only in their forties. Maybe a teensy little contrived at the very end, but all main characters were given a chance to grow and develop, and the plot ticked over nicely, so I didn’t really mind. Now I just wish there was a care home like that when it’s my time!

A great idea that started so well and I thought looked as if it would be dealt with really well. I was disappointed by the ending. I felt it the novel was taking me in one direction only to swerve off and verged on patronising the reader.

Simon is living a successful life but when he is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s while in his thirties he determines to have some control over his future. He retires as a partner in his accountancy practice, sells his house and moves into an apartment close to Oxford. Some eighteen months after the diagnosis, he decides to move into a care facility for the final years (?) of his life.

He chooses Orchard Care Home, a care facility that has a pool and a gym and plenty of room for him to continue his daily running exercises. Of course, he is many years younger than the other residents but he soon settles into this new way of living.

Emma is the facility manager and has been in the care industry for twenty plus years. She is married to Michael whom she met when a trainee at Orchard. Michael from being the manager has moved up the corporate ladder and is now based in the company’s London office, This entails the couple spending much time apart.

The attraction between Simon and Emma is immediate, but while attracted Emma is well aware of her marriage vow and her responsibilities as manager of the care home.

If you read this book, and I encourage you to do so, be prepared to range through all your emotions. It is at times, heartbreaking, and at others funny, loving and sensational. I recommend this book with five stars.

This is Anthony Le Moignan’s first book. I trust it will not be the last.

Although a predictable book it was enjoyable. I needed an easy, though sad, read after my last book. If not for the predictable plot I would have rated it higher.

It obvious from the beginning of this book that it was written from the soul, and with some personal experience. I read this beautiful, captivating and emotional book in just 2 sittings.

Simon is a successful and wealthy accountant but is diagnosed at the tender age of 40 with early onset Alzheimer’s. Emma is a manager of a care Home, her marriage is on the rocks due to ongoing fertility issues. When Simon moves into the care Home Emma runs, he is her youngest resident, and a incredible bond is formed between them.

A simply beautiful and well written story. The easiest 5 stars I have given, I’d have given more if I were able.

The sign of a good book is when you try to think of excuses to avoid human contact. Phoning in sick at work, not picking up the phone, cancelling plans..... (I hasten to add that I did none of these, or actually I may have done 1 or 2 - you decide which ones)....

I absolutely loved this book. As soon as I saw the synopsis of the book, I knew that this was a book I really wanted to read. I ended up reading it in two sittings, and when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it. I thought it was an absolutely beautiful story and was very sensitively written. I will be spreading the word about it as much as I can.

4.5 stars

It's taken me a while to gather my thoughts on this book and even now after a few weeks this beautiful story is still at the very forefront of my mind.


On the outside Simon has it all. He's a successful accountant, funny, handsome, financially comfortable and he's still only in his forties. But on the inside he's falling apart as he's been diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer's. Determined not to become a burden to others he has been busy preparing for his uncertain future and checks himself into Orchard Care Home where he hopes no-one will find him and he can quietly live out whatever remaining time he has left.


Emma is the manager at Orchard Care Home. She takes pride in what she does and she is supportive of both the residents as well as her team of staff. She's worked hard to get to her current position of manager and she met her husband, Michael, through her work earlier in her career. The couple are forced to spend a lot of time apart as Michael has now moved further up the career ladder and this has put a lot of strain on their marriage.


When Simon and Emma meet it's obvious that they are attracted to each other but of course this is a situation that is never going to end well for a whole host of reasons.



I was totally immersed in the story and it's characters. I loved Emma as she clearly loved her job caring for those who were unable to care for themselves and watching her relationship with Simon flourish knowing that there would only ever be one possible outcome really tugged at my heartstrings.


Simon was a character that will stay with me for a number of reasons, one of which being that a close family member had dementia, so I fully appreciate how difficult it can be to deal with. Seeing his decline from the humorous, happy go lucky guy at the start of the novel through to when his condition really starts to take a hold made for some really emotional reading but the fact that it was so beautifully written somehow made it easier.


A Long Goodbye is one of the best, if not THE best book that I've read this year. It's a highly emotional, poignant and thought provoking story which is based on real life experience of this heartbreaking condition as Anthony Le Moignan's father was diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer's and this first hand experience is very obvious in his writing. I'm not ashamed to tell you that this book completely broke me to the point where I was ugly crying into my pillow. I honestly can't recommend this highly enough and proceeds from the book will help to support the Jersey Alzheimer's Association so you'll be helping a great cause as well as getting a wonderfully touching, funny, heartwarming and hopeful story at the same time.


This is an impressive debut novel from Anthony Le Moignan and I'm looking forward to reading more from him.

A Long Goodbye is heart breaking. Simon is an unselfish man with great insight into people and what they need. Anthony Le Moignan gives us a personal look into early onset Alzheimer's and the tradegy of the disease.

Simon is extremely wealthy, a successful accountant and struck down with very early onset Alzheimers. Emma is married in a sort of a stuck in a groove marriage and is the manager of a Care institute. This is her life and she loves her work.

Simons admission to the Institute triggers off emotions that Emma thought were lost to her forever. The fact that despite his recurrent bouts of illness, that Simon reciprocated those feelings in full measure was a miracle for Emma.

The very quick progression of the disease, the brave face that Emma had to put on and go forward, their story was this story.

Emotional but not cloying, everything fell into place a little too neatly, but a very enjoyable read.

Let me just get a tissue!!! I am not into romantic novels but this has melted my granite heart!!

Emma and Michael are having marriage problems mostly caused by him working away during the week and her long hours managing Orchard Care Home.

Simon enters the care home at 40, he is the youngest resident and is physically fit, but has the early onset of Alzheimer’s. Their friendship and flourishing romance was very touching and beautifully written. I did tear up when Simon’s condition deteriorates but it was so realistically written and wasn’t dramatised!!

I loved this book. A romantic story with a twist that was heartbreaking and at the same time so emotionally touching. The friendship between Michael and Simon was so unexpected but so gentle that you can’t help but be moved by it.

I have never read a book with a character that has Alzheimer’s, but this was tastefully written and obviously researched.

Looking forward to Anthony’s next book.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

I expected this to be a book that was more like a memoir. It is a romance..not a favorite genre. The story was good but very, very predictable.

This was a great story! The characters are emotionally compelling and pull you into the story pretty quickly. It deals with Alzheimer's which is such an emotional subject, however the story was great!